BEIJING: Come next year, China will permit WiFi facilities in trains operating in the northwestern volatile Xinjiang province, which witnessed a spate of violent incidents in recent years.

Most passengers travelling by trains administered by railway bureaus in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region will be able to enjoy free wireless network access starting from this year's Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year to be celebrated for about a fortnight next month.

Passengers aboard non-high-speed, air-conditioned lines to and from Xinjiang can also surf the web for movies, news and online games by verifying their mobile phones starting Monday, the Urumqi Railway Administration said today.

Most routes operated by railway bureaus in Xinjiang will provide onboard WiFi services as part of an initiative to improve the experience of passengers on the often long, tedious trips, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

In September this year, direct express trains from Xinjiang to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou also started providing the service.

China has imposed severe restrictions including on religious gatherings in Xinjiang where Uyghur Muslims were restive over settlements of Han Chinese from other provinces. Xinjiang witnessed a spate of violent incidents allegedly carried out East Turkistan Islamic Movement.

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